Carrot Fly Free varieties of carrot are available to grow in the Vegetable Garden. Three examples of carrot fly varieties are:

• Resistafly - mid to late season use
• Flyaway - early
• Early Nantes - suitable for early sowing under glass

This is a great example of biological control - a method used in organic vegetable production.

Vegetable varieties which are resistant to attack from pests, often have a bitter taste - which is why the pests do not like them. But this is not the case with these carrots.

Resistance lies in the fact that these carrots have low levels of chlorogenic acid. Carrot fly larvae need chlorogenic acid for survival. Carrots with a low level of this chemical:

• do not seem to attract the carrot flies
• even if the carrot flies do attack the carrots, the larvae will soon die, (from lack of chlorogenic acid) before doing much damage

There are several practices a gardener can adopt to avoid carrot fly. If the carrot fly are a problem, the larvae eat into the root of the carrot and eventually destroy it.

To sow carrots:

• use a deep, rich, well drained soil which does not contain fresh manure or compost
• sow late winter to mid summer, according to the instructions on the packet
• sow in drills 1cm (½in) deep
• space drills 30cm (12in) apart

Using Carrot Fly Free varieties of carrot in the Vegetable Garden will ensure good, quality carrots.

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